MIDTOWN MANHATTAN: Nashville-based producer/musician/inventor Chris Estes demonstrated his revolutionary Endless Analog CLASP system in Avatar’s Studio G on Monday. The session featured ace-of-bass and producer Jerry Barnes laying down some of his thick, low-end goodness to Pro Tools HD via 2” tape and the CLASP.

The CLASP hardware unit is installed between your mic pre’s, DAW and tape machine.

Since the CLASP is such a newfangled, first-of-its-kind product, there’s a lot to understand about what it does and how it works. There are several great reviews and testimonials on the system here and plenty of information to answer any and all questions you may have. But here’s the gist:

CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) consists of a hardware unit that is installed between your mic pre’s, DAW and tape machine (pictured), and the native Bridge plug-in (RTAS and VST), which you open on any track in your DAW session and use to control the tape transport.

These days, most recordings being done to tape are then dumped into the digital realm for editing and mixing. CLASP allows for a totally hybrid workflow, where analog recording and overdubs are done in real time, controlled with the speed and efficiency of digital, and all audio is stored in your DAW, minimizing tape usage. You can use one reel of tape to record an entire record, or several records for that matter.

CLASP essentially allows the tape machine to be used like a plug-in. You control the tape machine and switch between tape speeds stored in the CLASP right from your DAW. And you can monitor analog in repro mode. See the CLASP connection diagram here.

CLASP's Bridge plug-in

The elevator pitch to engineers via Endless Analog’s website: “CLASP provides sample accurate tape synchronization with zero latency analog monitoring while delivering a true analog front end recording solution for Pro Tools.”

Seeing the CLASP in action, its functionality seems instantly essential. It totally streamlines a process that needs streamlining and will allow so many more people to utilize analog tape as part of their production.

At Avatar, the CLASP hardware unit was connected via MIDI to the Pro Tools HD rig and through an Endless Analog proprietary cable to the 24-track Studer A800. Once the tape machine was aligned and synchronized to the Pro Tools session at both 15 ips and 30 ips recording speeds via CLASP, Barnes tracked a bass line and then monitored off the repro head to select his preferred speed.

During playback, Estes pointed out: “Being able to monitor in repro is a really great thing for getting drum sounds, for example, because you can make judgment calls about what tape speed you want to use for a particular song.”

Chris Estes explaining the CLASP signal/workflow

“You can have it on whatever speed and then have the drummer play, mute his headphones, and then listen off the tape in Pro Tools. And you can make decisions about levels and EQ and things like that based on what you’re hearing.

“You can have the tape rolling while the drummer’s playing and, starting with the kick drum, you can bring the level up to find the sweet spot — right where we get just the right amount of tape compression — and dial it in so when you go to do your recordings, there are no surprises.”

CLASP stores information for up to three different recording speeds. Estes relayed to the group: “In a lot of sessions we’ve done so far, people will record the drums at 30 ips, then they’ll go back and re-cut the bass at 15. Then they’ll cut electric guitars at 7½, which sounds really great if the machine is aligned properly. With this [A800] machine, you’d vari-speed it down as far as you can get it and then do an alignment for that.”

“And if you wanted to use varispeed to overdub just a Tom Fill at 15IPS and have the rest at 30?” engineer Roy Hendrickson asked.

“You’d use the sync I/O in Pro Tools and vari-speed Pro Tools up,” says Estes. “So to make the toms sound bigger you’d vari-speed Pro Tools up and do the tom fill, put it back normal, and then the toms would be huge.”

Demo group at Avatar, Jerry Barnes at right

Estes also points out you can daisy-chain up to three CLASP hardware interfaces and synchronize three 24-track tape machines for a total of 72-channels of recording. You can use CLASP with 24, 16, 8 or even 2-track machines, you can combine different machines and tape speeds for different tones. In addition to Pro Tools, CLASP also works with Nuendo and Cubase.

But there’s even more to know…here’s Estes on-the-spot rundown of CLASP’s main functions and features:

1) First of all, the CLASP is a precision measuring instrument, which functions as a sample-accurate synchronization device, so it’s able to profile the tape machine, analyze the ballistics of the machine, calculate to the sample what the latency of that machine is — taking into consideration the transport, the flutter, etc. Then, it’s telling Pro Tools to change the time stamp of the audio that’s coming into the converters.

So, while you’re recording, the meters are actually late but then when you watch the wave forms as they’re going down, Pro Tools is drawing them in relationship to the grid in the correct time. So it’s an actual time stamp, you can take the session to another studio and you don’t have to have the CLASP. You only use the CLASP when you’re cutting tracks.

2) The CLASP is seamlessly controlling the tape transport for you invisibly in the background. It works a lot like the Quick Punch mode — it looks at the track-arming status and as soon as you have tracks armed and you start the Pro Tools transport, the CLASP, analog machine and Pro Tools Quick Punch all start recording simultaneously in the background. It’s extrapolating from the Pro Tools transport and track-arming status. So even though you might have punched in late, you can peel back audio with tape now. Which is impossible otherwise.

3) You don’t have to rewind the tape until you reach the end of the reel. In this case, it’s counting down from 30 minutes (@15 IPS), so you’d only have to rewind every half-hour or so.

4) You now have latency-free analog monitoring. We’re monitoring here through the master-grade analog hardware of the CLASP, not Pro Tools.

5) CLASP compensates for the converter delay times. If you’re using Apogee 16X converters with Pro Tools, for example, that’s 62 samples of converter latency at 44.1, so you simply type in 62 samples in the offset and then everything you play is perfectly in time with where it’s supposed to be when you play it back.

After the demo at Avatar, engineer Roy Hendrickson shared his impressions with us:

“I think what Chris has done here is quite brilliant. The fact that he is getting Pro Tools to record these files into the DAW with an adjusted time stamp is genius.

“And once you’re finished using CLASP and you go back to using Pro Tools normally, there are no side effects, there’s nothing you have to change about your workflow. You don’t have to move your files and it does all those little tweaks that you’d normally have to do — like re-compensating for things like delay manually — this takes care of all that for you in a really elegant manner so you don’t have to worry. You can concentrate on the performance.”

On the Endless Analog website, Chris Estes and Endless Analog VP Amy Becker Estes ask us to: “Imagine experiencing analog tape recording as fast, effortless and timesaving as Pro Tools.” The CLASP system, which Estes started developing out of his garage in Nashville over five years ago, makes this idea – once Estes’ daydream – a reality.

Endless Analog’s CLASP system is available now from Vintage King for $7,495.

Visit www.endlessanalog.com and www.vintageking.com/Endless-Analog-Clasp for more information!

Producer Dave Cobb recording with CLASP at Blackbird Studios

Nashville, TN — Los Angeles-based producer, engineer and composer Dave Cobb has worked with some of the biggest names in neo-traditional country and roots music – Shooter Jennings, Oak Ridge Boys, Waylon Jennings, Jamey Johnson and Brooke White, to name a few. He recently discovered a promising young sister act, The Secret Sisters, composed of Laura and Lydia Rogers. As producer of the group’s upcoming debut album, which is being overseen by Executive Producer and GRAMMY®-winning roots music legend T-Bone Burnett, and set to be released on Universal Republic, Cobb is using the opportunity to masterfully match the Sisters’ unique vintage sound, reminiscent of classic late 1950s country-pop, with period-accurate recordings. A huge piece of that puzzle is Endless Analog’s CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor), the critically acclaimed pro audio product that invisibly merges real Analog Tape with Pro Tools and other DAWs.

Cobb first became aware of CLASP through online recording forums.

"It piqued my interest immediately,” notes Cobb, “because I’ve always been into tape, and matching it with Pro Tools in this seamless way makes a really convenient, fast and easy workflow. CLASP seemed like the perfect marriage of the two. It lets me just work, and not have to think! Designer Chris Estes from Endless Analog gave me a demo at my L.A. studio, and I bought it on the spot. I’ve always had two-track tape machines, but lately I wasn’t using them quite as much. But now that CLASP has come along, it has completely solidified my workflow, and I’m back to using tape machines all the time.”

The Sisters’ project provided the perfect opportunity for Cobb to put the CLASP to great use. The album’s tracking sessions are taking place in Nashville at Blackbird Studio A, and Cobb made sure to go to every length to attain the classic sounds they were seeking. “We used a bunch of Universal Audio mic pre-amps, old RCA ribbon mics, Neumann U48s – all very period-correct stuff,” he recalls.

"There’s something really pleasing and honest about records from the 50s, 60s and 70s. CLASP enables us to get that classic sound with modern convenience. We used super-minimal mic-ing, period-correct compressors, instruments and setup, and gave the studio a vintage atmosphere. Really, the only difference in the way we tracked it now versus how they would have done it 50-plus years ago is that we have computers to act as a big storage device. With CLASP, we’re able to use one roll of tape, and just constantly hit ‘tape,’ and immediately it’s transferred into Pro Tools. We even used live slap going down to the chambers, and we were able to print it all to tape just as they would have done back then. All the sounds are coming from the rooms, the performers, the mics, the vintage mic-pre’s, and the tape, just like years ago. Pro Tools for us is a storage and editing medium only.”

He points out how CLASP has made their faithfulness to the vintage sound possible. He notes,

"If we’d done it before CLASP came along, we’d have spent probably $12,000 on tape alone, but with CLASP, you only need one roll. We were able to keep every pass we did on the computer – not that we needed a ton of passes – but we were able to keep them all and easily comp between those passes with the convenience of Pro Tools. And we were able to get the classic analog tape sounds without spending a fortune on tapes.”

As Cobb continues to work on projects at his L.A.-based 1974 Studio and elsewhere, he will be sure to keep CLASP as an integral part of his signal chain. He states,

"I don’t have to use plug-ins anymore to try and get the sounds I’m looking for. CLASP opens the doors to sounds that just don’t really exist in the digital realm. Classic-sounding records with modern convenience, that’s what CLASP allows us to do.”

About CLASP
CLASP is the world’s first and only pro audio hardware that lets you record on real analog tape with digital speed. CLASP provides sample accurate tape synchronization with zero latency analog monitoring while delivering a true Analog front end recording solution for Pro Tools. Already being used by top artists, producers and engineers worldwide, CLASP is re-inventing analog for the digital age. CLASP is employed by a diverse range of artists, engineers, producers and facilities, including Lenny Kravitz (at his new Bahamas-based Gregory Town Sound recording facility); Michael W. Smith; Denis Savage, engineer for Celine Dion; producers Nathan Chapman, Dave Cobb, Chuck Ainlay, John Fields and Tom “T-Bone” Edmunds; and studio facilities such as Clearwater, Florida’s Cleartrack Productions, Los Angeles, California’s Hemispheres Recording and Austria’s Prime Studios. Analog tape manufacturers recommended by Endless Analog for use with CLASP include ATR Magnetics and RMG International.

Nashville-based Endless Analog, developer and manufacturer of the CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) system, has appointed Vintage King Audio, a leading dealer of high-end new and vintage recording equipment, as its exclusive U.S. retailer for its CLASP system. Endless Analog president Chris Estes made the announcement.

Additionally, potential purchasers will have the ability to demo the CLASP system in Vintage King’s facilities as well as in Infrasonic Sound Recording Company—Vintage King Audio’s showcase facility in Los Angeles—and Media Right Productions in New York City.

"The appointment of Vintage King Audio is part of a comprehensive business plan that positions the next stage of growth for Endless Analog,” states Estes. “Vintage King is the acknowledged leader in boutique and classic audio products, which makes them a perfect fit to carry CLASP. Their staff is exceptionally well trained and uniquely qualified to offer Endless Analog’s product line, and their contacts and reputation in the industry are second to none. We look forward to working with Vintage King to spread the word about CLASP and analog/digital hybrid recording.”

"Vintage King is reaffirming its place as an industry leader by carrying the CLASP,” states Mike Nehra, Vintage King co-owner and Sales Director. “The CLASP’s revolutionary technology bridges the gap between classic analog recording and modern digital workflow; it’s a cutting-edge innovation that our clients will undoubtedly jump at the chance to work with. Vintage King is incredibly excited to offer them the opportunity to do so.”

The CLASP is a hardware and software system that seamlessly integrates analog tape recorders with digital audio workstations using a proprietary method called SST (sample synchronization technology). CLASP delivers an analog front-end recording solution offering the character of a tape machine while eliminating the delay associated with digital AD/DA converters. Endless Analog founder Estes created the CLASP in order to address the need engineers had for using DAWs in a familiar workflow while still getting the benefits that analog circuitry and real tape have to offer.

Infrasonic Sound will integrate a CLASP system into its existing setup (including the Rupert Neve 5088 console that the studio acquired from Vintage King last year), using CLASP with its three Otari units. CLASP will be available to all those tracking at the studio as well as any Vintage King clients interested in previewing the unit.

"By integrating The CLASP into our workflow at Infrasonic, we’re able to stay completely committed to the best of analog recording while taking advantage of the speed and fluidity of digital recording," says Infrasonic co-owner and Vintage King Los Angeles sales representative, Jeffrey Ehrenberg. "The majority of the sessions we have at Infrasonic track to tape, including the recent session my partner Pete Lyman completed with No Age [Sub Pop]. With the CLASP, we’ll save our clients’ time and money by eliminating consuming tape transfers and excessive tape costs. Additionally, the CLASP enables us to preserve the larger-than-life sound that you can only achieve when tracking to tape, yet edit, comp and tweak as today’s digital productions are accustomed to. I’m looking forward to not only using it myself, but giving Vintage King clients the opportunity to experience what it’s all about firsthand."

Read Kevin Becka’s review of Endless Analog’s CLASP system in the June 2010 issue of Mix.

For more information, visit www.endlessanalog.com, www.vintageking.com/Endless-Analog-Clasp and infrasonicsound.com. To schedule a demo, contact the Vintage King sales department at 248/591-9276.

— Inventor-manufacturer of CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) provides unique insights into analog recording and the use of CLASP, effectively bridging the worlds of digital and analog —

NASHVILLE, TN, May 7, 2010 — The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences (CRAS) recently hosted two days of workshops and seminars with Chris Estes, Founder/President of Endless Analog, the Nashville-based manufacturer and distributor of the revolutionary, critically acclaimed CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor). Estes led four in-studio sessions at CRAS, where students and faculty were given the unique hands-on opportunity to experience CLASP and learn Estes’ insights on analog recording, ranging from tracking methods right through the final mix. Drawing upon his vast experience on both sides of the glass and as an inventor, Estes discussed analog recording and worked closely with the Conservatory’s Director of Education Kevin Becka and Conservatory Technician Jeff Harris for the sessions. Estes used CLASP to merge Studio A’s Studer A 827 analog recorder and the Pro Tools HD system into a singular system.

“Our time with Chris and CLASP was a mind blower for both faculty and students,” commented Kevin Becka. “CLASP is an inspirational piece of gear. It gives artists, engineers and producers an incredible array of tools for cutting great sounding tracks. We were easily able to audition and record tracks at different tape speeds during a session, giving us the ability to do overdubs with more or less tape saturation depending on the instrument. Students could easily hear the quality difference between straight digital recordings and tracks cut through CLASP.”

CLASP is a hardware and software system that integrates Analog Tape Recorders with Digital Audio Workstations using a proprietary method called SST® (sample synchronization technology). CLASP delivers a true analog front end recording solution with the sonic character of the user’s tape machine. No other product comes close to approximating what CLASP effectively accomplishes. CLASP is employed by a diverse range of artists, engineers, producers and facilities, including Lenny Kravitz (at his new Bahamas-based Gregory Town Sound recording facility); Michael W. Smith; producers Nathan Chapman, Dave Cobb, Chuck Ainlay, John Fields and Tom “T-Bone” Edmunds; and studio facilities such as Austin, Texas’ Yellow Dog Studios, Los Angeles, California’s Hemispheres Recording and Austria’s Prime Studios. Analog tape manufacturers recommended by Endless Analog for use with CLASP include ATR Magnetics and RMG International.

“I am very impressed with the Conservatory’s faculty, students and curriculum,” stated Chris Estes. “CRAS has a vibrant, dedicated pool of students and renowned instructors with a passion for recording. The school offers an excellent way for these talented individuals to get their start and education in the recording industry. I am proud to have been able to address them, and I am thrilled with the support they have shown for the CLASP system.”

Based in Tempe, Arizona, with a satellite campus in Gilbert, Arizona, The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences is a premier audio recording, sound engineering and music production school teaching both analog and digital recording concepts from day 1 of their 30-week program. Every Conservatory student learns tape alignment on Otari and Studer 24-track tape machines, and the Conservatory has eight studios running both 24-track analog tape and Pro Tools HD 2 TDM systems. Over 800 students a year go through the Conservatory’s program, and in 2010, the Conservatory had 27 students credited on 55 GRAMMY®-nominated records with six GRAMMY winners on albums from Green Day, Booker T. Jones, Beyoncé and more.

ENDLESS ANALOG APPOINTS CLYNE MEDIA TO LEAD MARKETING AND PUBLIC RELATIONS INITIATIVES Clyne Media, Inc. March 10th, 2010 — Inventor-manufacturers of CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) look to increase media exposure and market share —

NASHVILLE, TN, March 10, 2010 — Endless Analog, the Nashville-based inventor, manufacturer and exclusive distributor of the revolutionary, critically-acclaimed CLASP® (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor), announces the appointment of Nashville- and New York-based firm Clyne Media, Inc. to handle its directed marketing and public relations. The announcement was made by Chris Estes, Endless Analog Founder and President, and underscores Endless Analog’s commitment to its marketplace.

CLASP is a hardware and software system that integrates Analog Tape Recorders with Digital Audio Workstations using a proprietary method called SST® (sample synchronization technology). CLASP delivers a true analog front end recording solution with the sonic character of the user’s tape machine. Currently, no other product comes close to approximating what CLASP effectively accomplishes. CLASP is employed by a diverse range of artists, engineers, producers and facilities, including Lenny Kravitz (at his new Bahamas-based Gregory Town Sound recording facility); Michael W. Smith; producers Nathan Chapman, Dave Cobb, Chuck Ainlay, John Fields and Tom “T-Bone” Edmunds; and studio facilities such as Austin, Texas’ Yellow Dog Studios, Los Angeles, California’s Hemispheres Recording and Austria’s Prime Studios.

“We are thrilled to have Clyne Media on board as our PR team,” stated Estes. “Robbie and his group have a great reputation throughout the industry, with the right experience and expertise to greatly assist us in our ongoing media and sales efforts. Clyne Media will be a key element to help us increase brand awareness and capitalize on high-profile installations of CLASP by leading artists, producers and engineers — they will undoubtedly be an enormous asset for our company and end users. We are certainly on the same wavelength, and Endless Analog is looking forward to this partnership.”

Clyne Media is one of the nation’s premier specialized marketing communications/media relations agencies, serving the needs of leaders in the high-technology electronics and entertainment market sector and related industries. The company will pursue new editorial opportunities on behalf of Endless Analog and help focus public relations efforts with industry editors and independent journalists worldwide.

Agency President/CEO Robert Clyne will handle the account management, while dedicated company staff will cover media relations, technical writing, editing and other marketing communications initiatives.

“We are very excited to be working with Endless Analog,” Robert Clyne commented. “Their CLASP product is one-of-a-kind, and their principals are clear innovators with a revolutionary vision for the future of audio and the integration of digital and analog recording. They are the type of client with whom we are proud to do business, and an excellent addition to our current client roster.”

For more information, please visit http://www.endlessanalog.com.

“We have had requests from a few high level users who have asked us to support integration of the J37 with CLASP. This is something very special that only a few of the worlds best studios can offer to their clients. Overdubbing with the J37 and CLASP is a unique experience that has never before been possible in the world of Pro Tools. Imagine hearing your Pro Tools overdubs from such a heavy sounding machine. It’s absolutely amazing!”,

Click for more information

– One of the big hits of last years AES is now shipping–

AES Convention San Francisco
By Nicole Cochran
October 5, 2008

New York – What a difference a year makes! During last year’s convention new manufacturer Endless Analog, Inc. of Nashville showed a prototype of their inaugural product, “CLASP”.

CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) integrates an analog tape machine with a Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) for seamless analog recording in the digital domain. Endless Analog is pleased to announce that CLASP is finally shipping to the US market. The product has already been met with rave reviews and various industry awards.

Previously, CLASP had only been shown to a select group of AES members at Ocean Way Nashville. “We know we have a great product, it was good to have that affirmed by others in the industry and share their enthusiasm,” said Chris Estes, president of Endless Analog and inventor of CLASP.

The innovative new product from Endless Analog brought praise from analog lovers throughout the Javits Center including Chuck Ainlay, David Hampton (Prince, Herbie Hancock), Jeff Matulich (Digidesign/Avid Audio), and Denis Savage (Celine Dion). “People are so excited that they can now effortlessly record on analog tape while using Pro Tools because of the seamless integration that CLASP provides,”Estes said. “AES was a great experience for us because we were finally able to demonstrate CLASP working with Pro Tools HD. We overdubbed electric guitar tracks, with CLASP and Pro Tools HD, live on the show floor throughout AES.”

If you would like to arrange a demonstration in your studio call 866-929-4446. The company comes armed with a 2008 Mix Hit award, a PAR Excellence Award and most importantly a licensing agreement with Avid One for use with Pro Tools HD.

“CLASP is very cool,” says Jeff Matulich, head of Digidesign Developer Partnerships. “We think it will add value to Pro Tools.”

Jim “Z” Zumpano, a producer and mixer who owns Zac Recording and Rentals in Atlanta agrees. “CLASP has given my lonely tape decks new ‘reason to live.’ As a studio and equipment owner, I am thrilled that I have regained my $100,000-plus dollar investments in analog.”

Many of us dream of vintage consoles and recorders in our studios, but reality takes over when we realize that we don’t have a place to put them or can’t even get one through the door. Studios used to be large: not just the recording space, but the control room as well. Consoles of that era were all hand-wired, built to order one at a time, and few were made in any significant quantity. A recent tally of the Trident A Range consoles from the mid 1970s—much revered for their EQ—shows that about 13, in total, were ever built. Many of these consoles were constructed on-site with chassis wiring often done by studio engineers in between sessions and were truly one-of-a-kind. Few of these consoles survive intact today; those that escaped cannibalization or the wrecking ball generally reside in the few remaining high-dollar studios or in personal studios of wealthy artists.

The cost? Initially $60,000 to $100,000, which, in today’s dollars ($250k-450k), is in the ballpark of the cost of a new large-frame SSL or API console, so there isn’t a big change there. And, like in the heyday of large studios, only a handful of these large-format consoles are being sold and installed today. Such consoles were originally mated with 16- and 24-track analog recorders from Ampex, 3M, Studer, and later MCI and Otari. Today’s studios sporting a large console usually have an analog recorder the size of washing machine to go along with it. A two-inch analog recorder typically cost in the range of $1,000 to $1,500 per track—comparable to a modern Pro Tools system with high grade A/D and D/A converters.

What Has Changed

So have things really changed very much? Of course they have. The majority of today’s studios are built on a totally different scale. Now $20,000 can equip a reasonably highly capable DAW-based system, and minimalist personal studios—which represent the largest market segment—can be productive with an investment of 1/10 that amount.

The console and recorder of the 1980s control room were accessorized with little more than a reverb plate and a few compressors. A studio chose its console based on its designed-in characteristic sound. If you were a Neve-based studio, you attracted clients who preferred that sound over the sound of the studio across town with the API or Harrison console.

Downsizing, personalization, and changes in the way most studios operate today contributed to the manner in which “basic” studio equipment has evolved and how it is accessorized. With few studios physically equipped to track a full band or orchestra playing together in a room, the demand for a recording console with a large number of inputs has greatly diminished.

A taste of “the warm analog sound,” even when working with just a few inputs, resulted in clever engineers and entrepreneurs packaging input channel modules from decommissioned large-format consoles into convenient rack-mounted signal processors, bringing characteristic sound of a vintage console to the modern digital control room. Most of the available genuine console modules have been racked up and sold, so a plethora of new and fairly accurate replications of the older console modules appeared in rack-mount format.

Endless Analog's CLASP—an interface linking DAWs and classic analog tape machines—is a testament to the evergreen desire for analog processing in the studio.

Compressors and limiters used in studios of the 1980s were borrowed from related industries. The limiter was a staple in the broadcast studio, primarily to prevent overmodulation of the transmitter. As a standard component in a disk mastering system, the limiter was used to prevent the cutting stylus from jumping out of the groove, ruining the master and perhaps damaging the cutter head while allowing a higher average level to be cut on the disk. As multitrack recording became the norm in the studio, the desire to compress individual tracks to fit them into a complex mix as well as to keep the signal as far above the tape noise floor as possible sent new customers into the broadcast market for their UREI LA2 limiters (as well as dumpster-diving for the hard-to-maintain Fairchild 670 limiter that was being replaced in mastering labs). There’s still a demand for the many new analog compressors in the marketplace—some re-creations of the classics of the ’70s and ’80s, and some new designs.

One problem that has flummoxed a lot of digital studio owners who crave the traditional analog compressor or a classic equalizer in line when tracking is this: Where the heck should you plug the darned thing in? The configuration of a mic preamp integrated with a digital-toanalog converter—often incorporating a FireWire or USB computer interface—leaves no opening in the line level signal path for an analog processor. Manufacturers of these front-end boxes have finally caught on, and today we’re seeing devices such as the Mackie 1200F (recently reviewed in PAR) or the Focusrite Saffire Pro26 with normalled insert send and return jacks immediately following the preamp, at least on selected channels.

On Analog Recording And Tape

One retro area that’s been neglected is analog recorders. It’s not that nobody wants one, but nobody’s building them any more—though ATR Service’s Mike Spitz says he still has plans to do so. On one of the audio forums I frequent, hardly a week goes by when someone doesn’t ask about using an analog recorder to “warm up” a digital recording. What they often don’t realize is that the sound that they’re dreaming of isn’t as simple as using tape as a signal processor; it’s a product of the entire recording process of the era. There’s a sometimes desirable sound quality associated with tracking particularly drums and bass on an Ampex MM-1200 or Studer A-80, but you won’t reach analog Nirvana substituting a wellused but more accessible TASCAM 80-8 or your grandfather’s TEAC rescued from the attic. That approach will only serve to remind you of why people were happy to move away from analog tape.

Analog tape is still a viable recording medium. Spitz overhauls classic broadcast and studio recorders and is probably more committed to the preservation of analog recording than anyone else today—so much so that he built a factory in the USA to manufacture analog recording tape after 3M and Quantegy (Ampex) stopped production. Mike will tell you that, depending on the tape you choose and how the recorder is adjusted, tape is capable of providing a wide sound palette, not just “warmth.”

For those willing to take the plunge, there are still plenty of two-track Ampex AG 440s available. These are built to last a lifetime, can be had cheaply, and all but the worst of them (if not stripped for parts) can be put into good-as-new condition for under $1,000. In Europe, a Studer — because of the better parts availability over there — might be a smarter investment. Two-inch 16- and 24-track recorders are cheap as dirt these days. Unlike much of today’s digital gear, there’s more to using an analog recorder than simply buying it and plugging it in. You’ll need some basic test equipment, a calibration tape, and the willingness to learn to keep it in adjustment. With quarter-inch tape selling in the ballpark of $50 and two-inch tape at around $250 per reel, feeding these beasts is a serious commitment.

Lots of what was good in the ‘Good Old Days’ is still available as genuine vintage gear, modern vintage recreations, and newly designed analog gear designed to integrate nicely with today’s digital systems. You don’t have to be nostalgic for the old gear and the old ways — those options are still available.

Mike Rivers has a long list of engineering credits with the Smithsonian and is the author of the last Mackie HDR manual.

PAR Presents 2008 PAR Excellence Awards at AES

San Francisco, CA (October 17, 2008)–Pro Audio Review presented its 12th Annual PAR Excellence Award to professional audio companies who introduced significant new products at the AES Convention held October 2-5 at the Moscone Center.

Endless Analog’s CLASP (closed loop analog signal processor) were among the winning products chosen by a panel of audio engineers, professional end-users and reviewers who annually select the awards for Pro Audio Review. Products are chosen for the PAR Excellence Award based on their potential to enhance the quality of an audio professional’s work. “We are excited and full of gratitude to have been chosen for this award,” says Amy Becker Estes of Endless Analog. “AES was incredible this year and we are glad to see more and more professionals recording with Analog Tape.” The Criteria for the PAR Excellence Award includes innovation in design, performance/value ratio, enhanced features, and performance improvements over previous versions.

By Harold Dunn

Nashville country music artist Derek Sholl is on his way. His current hit radio single “(I’ll be) Here” shot to #1 in Germany this week. The single was recorded and produced by Chris Estes. “We recorded Derek’s single using analog tape and CLASP”, says Estes. “Derek was on a tight schedule so we had to work very quickly and efficiently. CLASP allowed us to do just that. When we started the recording session, we did a shootout, we tried recording Derek’s’ vocals both to digital and analog. During the comparison, analog tape with CLAS P was the unanimous winner, hands down. “Using CLASP with our Studer 827 and Nuendo, allowed me to work with incredible speed recording Derek’s vocals and I was able to perform comping and editing on the fly while simultaneously recording to tape.”

Analog Comes Alive in a Digital World

– Endless Analog debuts CLASP to clamoring analog fans –

AES Convention San Francisco
By Nicole Cochran
October 5, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO – One of the biggest buzzes from the AES floor came from “analog alley” where CLASP (Closed Loop Analog Signal Processor) shared a booth with ATR Magnetics.

The innovative new product from Endless Analog brought praise from analog lovers throughout the Moscone Center including Chuck Ainlay, Alan Parsons, and Chris Lord-Alge. “The thing we heard over and over was that people were excited that they could once again record on tape using their DAW and the ease that it provides,” said Chris Estes, president of Endless Analog and inventor of CLASP. “AES was a great experience for us because we were finally able to debut the product to a wider audience.”

Previously, CLASP had only been shown to a select group of AES members at Ocean Way Nashville. “We know we have a great product, it was good to have that affirmed by others in the industry and share their enthusiasm”.

“We expect to book several orders based on verbal committments from the show.” he enthused. “It just goes to show that ‘long live analog’ is not just a catch phrase….people thirst to make records on tape again.” According to booth visitors CLASP is going to provide that opportunity.